Notre Dame boys keep their distance against LaGrange Park Nazareth

PEORIA — The Notre Dame boys basketball team used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to hold on for a 63-61 nonconference victory over LaGrange Park Nazareth on Saturday night.

Leading 41-36 early in the fourth quarter, the Irish (14-10) went 18-for-20 from the charity stripe down the stretch to salt away any chance of a comeback.

“We’re a good free throw shooting team,” Notre Dame coach Tom Lacher said. “They have to foul you and you put two points on the board and they’re no closer to you than before they scored. You’ve got to keep that distance.”

Shea Feehan, the area’s big-school leading scorer and 44 percent 3-point shooter coming into the game, was 0-for-6 from long distance but was still able to finish with a game-high 28 points.

Feehan used his quickness to get to the rim for some higher-percentage shots, and was also 16-for-19 from the free throw line, including going 7-for-8 in the final frame.

“It’s huge that Shea can do that now,” Lacher said. “When he started for us as a sophomore, he couldn’t do that, he was basically a stand-and-shoot guy. Now, it’s hard for people to stay in front of him.”

The Irish were also able to take care of the ball, finishing with just three turnovers on the night.

“It’s huge not giving up possessions,” Lacher said. “You can’t win if you can’t keep your hand on the ball, and you can’t put the ball in the bucket if you don’t have the ball.”

Nazareth (11-9) was playing with heavy hearts as senior Jon Croney’s father passed away from a heart attack on Wednesday. With all of the stress hanging on the players, coach John Bonk found a silver lining in the loss.

“We’ve had a lot of emotions these last few days, and we came in and battled. We came out here, not with the victory, but I’m very proud with our effort,” he said.

Aaron Sanders added 14 points for Notre Dame, and was also 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

Josh Herman can be reached at 686-3214 or jherman@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshHermanPJS